Study abroad

Internationalisation in research education

PhD candidates are encouraged to orientate themselves internationally during the doctoral program. International experience and network building can be important for later opportunities for appointment to a scientific position and for opportunities for external project funding. International experience can be achieved by for instance:

• Research stays abroad (as guest researcher or through exchange agreements)
• Conference participation
• Course or seminar participation
• Participation in International Research Schools
• Data collection or Field work
• Publication in international journals with peer review
• Collaboration with research groups in other countries

Expenses can often be covered by the candidate's operating funds. For longer stays abroad, other financing may be required. There are several schemes for financing, and it is expected that the PhD candidate takes an active role to secure funding of a stay abroad.

Research visits or exchange in doctoral education

PhD candidates are encouraged to have a stay abroad during the doctoral program, as part
of data collection or fieldwork related to the dissertation, or to receive guidance and other
academic follow-up at another university. A research stay abroad can also give new impulses to the work on the dissertation.

A stay abroad can be organized as a research visit or via the institution's / PhD programme's exchange agreements.

When you go on a stay abroad, you need to register your stay through this form. If you are going on exchange to an Erasmus+ institution, you’ll need to state so through the form in order for HVL to help you get support from Erasmus+.

You can find a list of exchange partner institutions for your ph.d.-programme at your programme’s webpage.

Some advice:

• Start planning well in advance.
  
  
• A relevant and good professional environment is the most important!
  
  
• The institution and relevant research environment should be chosen with care and in collaboration with the supervisor, so that the stay is professionally useful and relevant.
  
  
• Discuss with your supervisor when you should plan for a stay abroad. The time of stay abroad must be appropriate in relation to several factors such as “duty work”, compulsory courses, data collection or other activities related to the PhD project.
  
  
• Check options for financing and discuss this with your supervisor.

Financing a research visit abroad

Most research visits abroad, especially of shorter duration, must be financed from your own operating funds, but you can also apply for support from other sources of funding.Most research visits abroad, especially of shorter duration, must be financed from your own operating funds, but you can also apply for support from other sources of funding.

• PhD candidates who have been employed on a project funded by the Research Council of Norway can apply for a scholarship there (including candidates within the schemes Public Sector PhD and Business PhD).
  
  
• Fulbright and NORAM: The organizations Fulbright and NORAM offer scholarships to researchers, PhD and master's students who are to have a longer stay abroad, at a North American institution. Please note that the application deadlines are in the autumn semester of the year before you travel and a long planning horizon is required.
  
  
• Legathåndboken (The scholarship handbook – only in Norwegian): Here you will find a number of opportunities for scholarships and scholarships for stays abroad. Keywords in the database: international, education, research or special scholarships / scholarships related to your hometown.
  
  
• Planning your research career (RCN) gives you a short presentation of mobility scholarships from the Research Council or other actors.
  
  
• Euraxess; Search for funding
  
  
• Erasmus+ -student exchange: It is possible for PhD students to travel through the Erasmus program for student mobility, as long as the bilateral agreement includes PhD level.
  
  
• Erasmus+ -employee exchange. If you are going on a shorter stay which means that you will be teaching at the partner institution, you can apply for a teacher scholarship.
  
  
• The Mobility Grant is established to make sure that PhD fellows have equal opportunities for stays abroad during their research education.

Practical information during a research visit abroad

In addition to the academic program, you will need to arrange the most important things in advance:

• Housing
• Visa
• Travel
• Insurance

As a PhD student, you may need special adaptations with regard to the practical preparations, such as housing, possibly a kindergarten / school place if you travel with children. Some of the partners will have arranged an infrastructure to take care of this, but the vast majority are based on international students and research candidates arranging this privately. However, most people will have a contact person at the institution you can consult, to get ahead in the process.

Checklists and practical information:

• Sikresiden – Before you travel
• Euraxess – Leaving Norway
• Euraxess – Nation portals